The 10 Best Telescopes For Viewing Planets

We spent 28 hours on research, videography, and editing, to review the top options for this wiki. A lot of hobbyist astronomy focuses on the moon, as it's the easiest celestial body to see at night. If you want to up your stargazing game, however, you should invest in one of these telescopes for viewing planets. They'll take you past the moon and Mars and let you see places like Saturn, Jupiter, and even Uranus. We've ranked them here by their optical quality, total magnification, and value.
When users buy our independently chosen editorial picks, we may earn commissions to support our work.
Skip to the best telescopes for viewing planet on Amazon.

We spent 28 hours on research, videography, and editing, to review the top options for this wiki. A lot of hobbyist astronomy focuses on the moon, as it's the easiest celestial body to see at night. If you want to up your stargazing game, however, you should invest in one of these telescopes for viewing planets. They'll take you past the moon and Mars and let you see places like Saturn, Jupiter, and even Uranus. We've ranked them here by their optical quality, total magnification, and value.
When users buy our independently chosen editorial picks, we may earn commissions to support our work.
Skip to the best telescopes for viewing planet on Amazon.

10. Orion AstroView

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A refractor with a 910mm focal length, the Orion AstroView is just powerful enough to give you a nice look at our immediate neighbors, like Mars and Saturn. It does very well with the moon, and you get a guide to exploring its surface with your purchase.

9. Orion 10022 StarMax 90mm

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The Orion 10022 StarMax 90mm comes with a very stable base that allows you to plop it on a table by a window and enjoy unobstructed views of the night sky. It won't show much detail on anything past Jupiter, but big, bright targets should come through clearly.

8. Celestron NexStar 127SLT

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The quick release fork of the Celestron NexStar 127SLT dramatically reduces the amount of time it takes to set it up in the field, especially if you transport the tube and mount already connected. It has an auxiliary input for GPS use, too.

7. Orion 10016 StarBlast 6 Astro

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The Orion 10016 StarBlast 6 Astro is a relatively simple tabletop option with a nice amount of range and clarity for its cost. It comes with a pair of Sirius Plossl eyepieces measuring 10 and 25 mm, as well as a useful EZ finder aiming device.

6. Sky-Watcher ProED 120mm Doublet APO

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While the Sky-Watcher ProED 120mm Doublet APO doesn't come with its own tripod, it does give you a nice, protective aluminum case to carry it around in. Its 900mm focal length ought to get you up close and personal with a variety of heavenly bodies.

5. Meade Instruments LX90-ACF 12-Inch

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The coma free optics of the Meade Instruments LX90-ACF 12-Inch help you see more detail with less blurriness than you might experience using inferior glass. Just be ready to pay a premium for the privilege, as that kind of material quality in this size isn't cheap.

4. Orion 0135 SkyQuest XT10g

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The motors, encoders, and gears of the Orion 0135 SkyQuest XT10g come preinstalled, making initial assembly a piece of cake, so you can get stargazing sooner rather than later. It also arrives with its own collimation cap for fine adjustments.

3. Celestron CPC 1100 StarBright XLT GPS

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The Celestron CPC 1100 StarBright XLT GPS is a Schmidt-Cassegrain model that boasts an internal database of more than 40,000 celestial objects, so you can relatively easily program it to track down whatever it is you want to see.

2. Celestron NexStar 6 SE

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Given its low price, just about every feature on the Celestron NexStar 6 SE is a pleasant surprise. Not least among those is the sturdy mount and tripod, as well as its very capable controller with its own conveniently placed slot.

1. Orion 10024 SkyQuest XX14i

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The incomparable performance of the Orion 10024 SkyQuest XX14i comes down to its width more than anything else, as it offers users a generous 14-inch aperture, which can collect a tremendous amount of light and provide you with an exceptional degree of detail.

Editor's Notes

January 14, 2019: Telescopes capable of providing viewers visible detail on distant planets clearly come in at higher prices than those aimed at consumers who might celebrate seeing mars as a slightly larger blurry dot than they're used to. Celestron and Orion, not surprisingly, take up the bulk of the selection, with models suitable for a variety of budgets. Meade also makes an appearance, but its model's price point is too prohibitive to break into the upper spots.

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Daniel Imperiale holds a bachelor’s degree in writing, and proudly fled his graduate program in poetry to pursue a quiet life at a remote Alaskan fishery. After returning to the contiguous states, he took up a position as an editor and photographer of the prestigious geek culture magazine “Unwinnable” before turning his attention to the field of health and wellness. In recent years, he has worked extensively in film and music production, making him something of a know-it-all when it comes to camera equipment, musical instruments, recording devices, and other audio-visual hardware. Daniel’s recent obsessions include horology (making him a pro when it comes to all things timekeeping) and Uranium mining and enrichment (which hasn’t proven useful just yet).

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